Jaitley accepts Kejriwal's apology, withdraws defamation case
Delhi HC today closed the Rs. 10cr defamation case filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. The AAP chief and his key aides Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpai had tendered written apologies to Jaitley for casting aspersions on his reputation. Jaitley accepted the apology and jointly filed an application with Kejriwal to withdraw the suit. Here's more.
Why did Jaitley file a defamation case against Kejriwal?
Jaitley had sued Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders in December'15, seeking Rs. 10cr as damages, after they accused him of corruption during his 13-year tenure as Delhi and District Association's (DDCA) boss. A second Rs. 10cr defamation suit followed in July'17, after Kejriwal's lawyer Ram Jethmalani used a slur during cross-examination. He claimed that the term was authorized by his client Kejriwal.
Then again, why did Kejriwal and his aides apologize?
To reduce defamation cases filed against him and to "refocus" his time and energy on governance-related matters, Kejriwal has been on an apology marathon. In separate letters to Jaitley, the AAP leaders said the accusations were "unwarranted." Kejriwal, on his part, said Jethmalani's comments were made without his consent. However, these apologies have come in for criticism, with questions being raised about Kejriwal's credibility.
